For growers the downside to old vineyards is economics. Twain-Peterson calls them "victims of pinot madness," recounting how the Silverado Group bought Barbieri vineyard in 2007 and pulled out its hundred year old vines to plant more lucrative and fashionable pinot noir.

Saint-Gobain is exiting packaging to focus on homebuilding and renovation products, glass used in cars and construction, and high-performance materials such as refractories. Closely- held Ardagh, a Luxembourg-based glass and metal packaging company said the deal will increase its glass business globally by almost 60 percent and help winning new clients in the U.S. wine industry

Australia's commodities boom created the $200,000 high-school dropout, the world's richest woman, and the least affordable housing market on earth. And it could soon put a dent in the makers of Yellow Tail

Constellation Brands, Inc. (CBI), the world's leading premium wine company, announced today that Eric Morham, president of the company's Canadian business, will retire effective May 31, 2013 after 40 years in the beverage alcohol industry.

Both Steve Thomson of King Estate Winery and Juan Pablo "JP" Valot of Silvan Ridge Winery were appointed to three-year terms. Leigh Bartholomew of Archery Summit and Dominio IV winery and Michael Donovan of RoxyAnn Winery were re-appointed to new terms.

The number of wineries in the United States has quadrupled in the past 10 years and tripled in Missouri, according to research by Fabio Chaddad, assistant professor of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri.

Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants, a multi-unit winery, restaurant, and retail concept, has been selected to pour the bubbly for the First Lady's Toast at the Illinois State Society's Illinois Inaugural Gala at the Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013.

Moet Hennessy USA and Marnier-Lapostolle Inc. have announced today that Moet Hennessy USA will continue to be the U.S. distributor for Marnier-Lapostolle Inc.'s Grand Marnier liqueur. This extends a long-standing agreement and reinforces the partnership between the two companies.

One of the traits that sets Bill Foley apart from other wine executives is his ability to act quickly. Unlike other major players, companies with shareholders, boards or sprawling family structures to consult, Foley alone makes the decision to act.

Comedian and presidential candidate Pat Paulsen was one of the first celebrities to launch a winery back in 1976. Due to economic hardship, Pat Paulsen Vineyards closed its Sonoma doors in 1990. Now, 23 years later, Paulsen's son, Monty, a UC-Davis trained winemaker, has relaunched the label in a live-work space in West Oakland's The Bottoms.

For 10 years, they've enjoyed the successes and challenges (freezes, frosts, hail storms, etc.) of running a family winery and producing fine Arizona wines; they are now ready to move on to other ventures.

A Kelowna area wine producer hopes India is the next hot market for B.C. wine. Karnail Singh Sidhu of Kalala Organic Estate Winery is one of two producers flying about 1,000 bottles of ice wine and Riesling to India this week.

Plans are in the works for a new wine trail in Saratoga and Washington counties that could be ready by summer 2014. The project would include about a dozen local sites that belong to the recently formed Upper Hudson Valley Wine & Grape Association.

After weeks of speculation that it was in financial difficulties, the Pressoirs de France group - supplier of cheap Champagne to major UK supermarkets - has gone into receivership having failed to find a new financial backer.

Throughout the 1990s, soft drinks made up nearly a third of the typical Americans' liquid diet. But in the last ten years, we've cut our soda consumption by 16 percent. Meanwhile, we now drink more than 50 percent more bottled water than we did in 2001 -- and twice as many energy drinks